Thoughts on Every Gym Leader/Kahuna, Trial Captain, Elite 4 Member, and Champion (excluding Gen 7 since YOU become the champion. Plus we'll do Professors and Rivals at a later date and that's when I'll cover N, Kukui, and Hau. And yes this means Blue, Cheren, Marnie, and Bede will be covered twice)
Brock: A simp but a loveable simp whom we all love. 50/10
Misty: BEST GIRL. She was my first Pokémon crush and I love how sassy she is. 100/10
Lt. Surge: Dundabolt. 25/10
Erika: Oh cool, her design looks pretty so her battle should be go- aaaaaand its over. 8/10
Koga: He's a ninja. 100/10
Janine: Girlboss Ninja. 150/10
Sabrina: Creepy but also really cool. 80/10
Blaine: HOPE YA HAVE BURN HEAL! 12/10
Giovanni: I love this mafioso and Team Rocket as a whole so much. 60/10
Lorelei: Big Mommy Milkers (in the anime at least) but also a pretty cool (heh) demeanor. 73/10
Bruno: That's it? That was the battle? 5/10
Agatha: Status Effect O'Clock. 30/10
Lance: The OG Dragon Master... with only one Dragon on his team. 47/10
Blue: Do I even need to say anything? 100/10
Falkner: For a first Gym Leader, he's pretty bland imo. 6/10
Bugsy: Transmasc Icon. NeedsHeracrossAsHisAce/10
Whitney: Fuck Miltank. -65/10
Morty: *[insert unfunny Rick and Morty joke here]* 35/10
Chuck: Boring. 3/10
Jasmine: And the easiest Gym puzzle award goes to. 20/10
Pryce: How did my dumbass child-self get stuck on this old man for so long? ChildhoodDumbness/10
Clair: Sore Loser. Doesn't deserve the Dragon Type. 4/10
Will: Boring. 2/10
Karen: Literally the only good Karen. 35/10
Roxanne: Brock but boring. 6/10
Brawly: Surfer Bro. Probably smokes weed. 15/10
Wattson: Oh hey its the guy who had his whole team one shot by Ash's Pikachu. 5/10
Flannery: Hot both literally and figuratively. I love her demeanor and how deep down nervous she is. 50/10
Norman: The Only Good Father Figure in this series. 30/10
Winona: Boring tbh. Hot, but boring. 4/10
Tate and Liza: Ah yes, Surf Fodder. 8/10
Wallace: Fabulous Gay Water Man. I love him and want to date him one day. 78/10
Juan: Wallace but not gay but just as fabulous. 60/10
Sidney: He just wants a good fight yet uses two Dark Types with one of the worst defensive type comboes in the series. 11/10
Phoebe: Transfemme Icon. We stan. 70/10
Glacia: Boring. 1/10
Drake: Lance but better. 57/10
Steven: How does Hoenn have not one, but TWO hot champions? I love this rock collector. 80/10
Roark: Like father... 30/10
Gardenia: She gives me Daisy from Mario vibes. I like it. 40/10
Maylene: Fighting Type Misty. I love her. 55/10
Wallace: YOU'RE GOIN' NOWHERE! I GOTCHA FOR THREE MINUTES, THREE MINUTES OF PLAYTIME! 90/10
Fantina: She's 100% from Kalos and just moved from there to Sinnoh. 70/10
Byron: ...like son. 30/10
Candice: WORST. GYM. PUZZLE. 8/10
Volkner: Minato from Naruto but emo. 80/10
Aaron: The absolute balls of this man to use Dustox and Beautifly. 20/10
Bertha: Oh hello ma'am. You look very kind. Welp, time to sweep you with Torterra/Empoleon. 9/10
Flint: Ah yes, my favorite Fire Types: Drifblim, Lopunny, and Steelix. 50/10
Lucian: Why are the Psychic Elite 4 Members the most boring? 5/10
Cynthia: *[WAR FLASHBACKS]*
Also, she's hot and very funny in the anime. 110/10
Cilan: The best part of the Unova anime. 8/10
Chili: Meh 1. 3/10
Cress: Meh 2. At least he's handsome. 6/10
Cheren: Someone tell me why he looks lowkey cute in B2W2? 7/10
Lenora: Hard Female Normal Type Gym Leader but actually likeable. We stan. 8/10
Roxie: She did the whole punk rock thing before Piers made it cool. 78/10
Burgh: The Other Transmasc Icon of the Bug Type users. 40/10
Elesa: Girlboss and very attractive. Only real flaw is a HORRENDOUS battle. StopUsingVoltSwitch/10
Clay: MINER COWBOY. 59/10
Skyla: Lowkey thicc and very attractive with a great personality to boot. 60/10
Brycen: The Best Ice Specialist. 77/10
Drayden: GILF Dragon User. 80/10
Marlon: Hrngh... shirtless male Gym Leader... One of my bisexual awakening moments. 80/10
Shauntal: Compared to other Ghost Type Specialists, kinda meh. 20/10
Grimsley: WHY ARE ALL THE DARK TYPE SPECIALISTS (minus Sidney) ATTRACTIVE. 93/10
Caitlin: Sleeby. Was also a great way to show how she progressed from Gen 4 into Gen 5. 30/10
Marshall: The Most Meh of the Unova Elite 4. 3/10
Alder: Look he's trying his best and is honestly a great Champion. 30/10
Iris: She has a Hydreigon. 300/10
Viola: Easy. 5/10
Grant: Easy and bland. 2/10
Korrina: One of two good Kalos Gym Leaders. 30/10
Ramos: Easy and bland. 1/10
Clemont: THE FUTURE IS NOW THANKS TO SCIENCE! 20/10
Valerie: BEGONE FAIRY USER! -200/10
Olympia: Easy and bland. 4/10
Wulfric: Easiest and blandest: 0/10
Drasna: WHY DOESN'T SHE USE HYDREIGON IF ITS RIGHT AT VICTORY ROAD?! -150/10
Malva: Smokin' hot and very good personality wise. One of the few good Kalos characters. 20/10
Siebold: Pokémon is art as a game but battling itself is not art... unless you use Smeargle. 6/10
Wikstrom: The fact they had a KNIGHT BASED STEEL TYPE ELITE 4 MEMBER and didn't give him Escavalier gives him a low score immediately. 3/10
Diantha: Wait this battle can last more than 30 seconds? 1/10
Iida: I want to date him. Handsome and he is a very nice guy. 50/10
Hala: BUFF SUMO GRANDPA. 100/10
Lana: Wait, did we somehow get a BORING Water specialist? 4/10
Kiawe: Best character in the Alola anime outside of Gladion. 33/10
Mallow: Grass Type Misty. 8/10
Olivia: Would let her step on me WITH her heels. 80/10
Sophocles: Annoying Brat. -4/10
Acerola: Adorable and surprisingly tough when unprepared. 20/10
Nanu: Police Officer DILF, and somehow is also lowkey attractive. 40/10
Mina: BEGONE FAIRY USER! -200/10
Hapu: Acerola but boring. 3/10
Molayne: I mean, he's okay, but still kinda boring. 5/10
Kahili: ... Idk/10
Milo: I would let him crush my skull between his biceps. 90/10
Nessa: HELLO MA'AM PLEASE GIVE ME ALL OF YOUR PHOTOS. 95/10
Kabu: Hey guys, I found Flannery's father. 60/10
Bea: HELLO MA'AM PLEASE STEP ON ME. 110/10
Allister: PROTECC THE SMOL CHILD! 120/10
Opal: She uses a Togekiss and is a very respectful elder, so I'll give her a pass for being a Fairy User. 7/10
Gordie: Would let him hug me until my spine breaks. 90/10
Melony: If you looked up MILF in the dictionary, you'd see Melony next to Lisa Lisa from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil. 85/10
Piers: STEP ON ME GOTH PUNK DADDY. 140/10
Rainhan:
YES HELLO SIR CAN YOU PLEASE STEP ON MY FACE SO HARD IT LEAVES A BOOT MARK AND AND THEN KISS ME ON THE LIPS PLEASE AND THANK YOU
170/10
Marnie: Best Girl. Is goth but also a complete sweetheart. 160/10
Bede: One of very few good Fairy Specialists. Is also very handsome. 130/10
Leon: The only good Charizard user. Also is very handsome and I'd let him step on me. 150/10
Klara: How ironic for the relstionship with a Poison Type leader to be so toxic. Still love her though. 110/10
Avery: He radiates Frieza Voice energy. I like him. 95/10
Mustard: Chaotic Old Man. Very much love him. 120/10
Peony: Everyone's dad. Too bad his battle theme's the worst in the game. 100/10
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Title: The Pandering Country Western Star
Summary: Craig is a closeted country star. Tweek is an internet famous singer who's been out since middle school. when Craig’s ex outs him to a magazine, can Tweek be of any help to Craig in his time of need?
Ships: Creek, Revin, mentioned Stendy, past Cramos
Rating: T
Other: This was a cathartic story to deal with my coworkers being assholes :)
~~~~~~~~
Craig tipped back his head, downing the last of his drink.
Stan raised an eyebrow at him. "So, it's been fifteen minutes. Are you finally going to tell me what happened?"
Craig signaled the bartender for another Coke. He wanted to get absolutely wasted and completely forget the betrayal, but he couldn't risk that he might do something that would drag his reputation down worse than it already would be next week.
"Thomas." Craig fished out a twenty from his wallet and handed it to the bartender. "Just keep bringing whatever drinks you have cold and around until that runs out." He instructed the bartender, who then looked at her regular, Stan.
Stan just shrugged. "What's left over can pay off my tab, I guess."
She nodded and left the men to their own devices.
Stan sipped his Sprite. "What about Thomas? You two break up?"
Craig stirred the ice in his glass. "We are now." He groaned, shoulders slumping forward. "Stan, my career is over. He told a magazine."
Stan choked on his drink. He beat his chest and earned a look from the bartender. He waved her concerns off with his hand.
"'Told'? 'Told' like..." Stan lowered his voice, "like he told a magazine you're gay?"
Craig nodded solemnly. "Yeah. Not just any magazine. Fucking 'Country And Western Life' —the biggest country music magazine. I am boned."
Stan made a sound of understanding, reaching out to pat Craig's back. Stan was in the unique position of having some empathy for Craig's situation. His music career was ruined by gossipy journalism digging too deep into his personal life as well, though, Stan's career hadn't nearly made it as big as Craig's.
His band had one single make it to number one on the top forty charts, and that was mainly because it was in a low budget action spoof that was an unexpected box office success.
Craig had one song make it to number two, and three others make it into the top ten on the country charts. A collaboration he did with another, older star, made it to number one and held the spot for nearly three weeks.
Stan's fall from grace was not nearly as big of a crash and burn as Craig's would be.
"I don't understand why he'd do this." Craig shook his head. "I thought we had something special. Fucking wrong there, I guess."
"What did your manager say?" Stan asked.
Craig raised a shoulder in a shrug. "Red said she'd leave it up to me. I could deny it, but since I don't know what Thomas brought to 'Country And Western Life', I might end up making myself look like a fool. Or I could just come out myself before it publishes and take the thunder from them, but then..." He shuddered.
"You'd have to deal with a legion of homophobic ex-fans throwing Bible verses at you and saying you're doing it to pander to gay people and trying to be some SJW?" Stan finished.
"Yeah." He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what to do. I don't want to lose my fan base."
"Well, I can tell you from experience, stepping out of the limelight and settling into a nice domestic life isn't terrible." Stan unlocked his phone and began to turn it towards Craig, but he raised his hand to stop him.
"I don't want to see pictures of your partner and kids." Craig rolled his eyes.
Stan huffed in offence but put his phone in his pocket. "Honestly, Craig? I think you're worrying too much. It's twenty-nineteen. Not as many people as you're expecting will care that your gay. A vocal few, sure, but even if some people are against queer people, they'll ignore it for the sake of your music and work. It'll only be a big deal if you make it one."
He raised his glass slightly. "Or that's what happened when Wendyl and I came out. We still have to block some assholes who spam our accounts sometimes, but once the first 'outrage' died down, we actually got more fans. I don't know if I'm good representation for people, but I think Wendyl is, at least." He smiled fondly at the thought of his partner.
Even though he made a snort at Stan, he was glad that they were happy together. When they were just college roommates, Craig was sure he and Wendyl wouldn't actually make it past the first few dates. Somehow they did though.
That was more than Craig could say about his relationship. He honestly thought Thomas might be the one. He'd occasionally even brought up the idea of a secret wedding, usually as a joke, to test the waters. Thomas never answered him seriously, but he never said he would be against it. The tabloids would have a field day if he started wearing a wedding ring.
Not that that mattered anymore...
Craig set his straw down to drink the coke from the glass. He let a chunk of ice fall into his mouth and crunched down hard on it.
"The difference between you and Wendyl and me is you and Wendyl were retired from your music days. No one talks about 'Moop' anymore. 'Craig Tucker' is a household name," Craig pointed out. "You weren't making hard rock for the radio. You two are activists for animals. One of those lends itself well to a non-binary person and their bisexual husband — and it's not the first one."
Stan rolled his eyes. "That sounded like an insult, but you're feeling like shit so I'll let it slide." He sucked a breath through his teeth. "Craig, dude, I really wish I could help you out here, but...I don't know. I don't think your career is over. You're overreacting. You can still make money as a country star. It'll be rough as hell these next few months, but if you just keep on keeping on, it'll be fine. Show everyone you accept yourself for you and don't care what anyone else thinks."
"Besides, " He rolled his wrist as he spoke, "someone will do something else, have an affair, use a slur in an interview, die, and everyone will move on. It's the music industry. They have the attention span of a gnat."
Craig grunted, burying his face in his arms. Why did he think Stan would actually be able to help him? A country star being gay was a totally different ballpark than a rock star going on a drunken stupor in his underwear through New York.
"So you vote for going out on Twitter and telling everyone myself then? Is that what I'm hearing?" Craig asked as he peeked up to stare past Stan towards the stage.
The folk band finished their set and bowed to the applauding crowd. From the little bits Craig had paid attention too, the folk band wasn't that bad, but the violinist and guitarist needed to work on their harmonies together. They clashed more often than not, fighting each other for the melody with their volume and drowning out the other members.
Stan shrugged. "I guess. At least it's from your mouth and not your ex's."
A single singer with a guitar came on stage now. He was handsome: soft blond hair, round face, a little chubby. Half of him screamed 'country singer', the other half...didn't. He had on a green-gray striped western shirt, brown vest, and a worn cowboy hat above the hips. On the other hand, below the hips, he had on beat up, dirty Converse sneakers and washed out skinny jeans with intentional holes in the knees.
Craig sat up a little to stare at the singer. He whistled quietly.
"Guess if everyone is going to know, it doesn't matter if I stare, does it? Damn." Craig nodded to himself. "He's a mess, but...damn."
Stan followed his gaze to the stage as the singer introduced himself as 'Tweek'. He didn't have the accent Craig was used to hearing from country singers.
"Oh, him? He's a nice guy, actually. Little too anxious, but ok voice nonetheless," Stan told him. "He must want to do country covers tonight. Usually, he wears a normal button up, but not when he sings Conway Twitty and Johnny Cash."
"He ever covered any of my songs?" Craig questioned.
"Yes and no," Stan smirked, "he rarely does any modern country songs. Not unless he really likes them, but I've heard him sing 'You Never Even Called Me By My Name' before."
Craig mock punched Stan in the arm, making him spill part of his Sprite. Stan glared at him before reaching for a napkin to mop up the mess.
Tweek nodded to a man sitting next to the stage to hit play on a recording. The opening piano began as he strummed, tapping his foot. He took a breath and began to sing.
"The bar was empty. I was sweeping up the floor."
Even hearing only the first line, Craig could tell this man had none of the twang that gave the song some of its charm. His voice also didn't go quite as low as Brad Paisley's did naturally, either. He was about to mention this to Stan when Tweek sang the next line, and Craig froze.
"That's when he walked in. I said, 'I'm sorry but we're closed."
"He changed the pronouns," Craig muttered to himself. Stan smirked again at him before shushing Craig with a finger to his lips.
After that, Craig listened more closely. All throughout the entirety of 'We Danced', Tweek kept changing the pronouns from 'she' to 'he'. He even, albeit somewhat clumsily, changed a few other words and phrases as well ('purse' to 'wallet' and 'diamond ring' to 'golden band') confirming that he was singing this song about a man.
"He's not bad," Stan leaned back to speak, "don't you think?"
"Yeah, I mean," Craig shook himself, but it didn't do as much as he hoped, "it's ok. He's ok. He's singing a bit lower than I think he can comfortably do, but he holds the notes nicely and...yeah. He's ok."
Stan chuckled, giving Craig a knowing smile that Craig ignored, instead focusing on Tweek. The crowd clapped when Tweek finished his song before he started up another. Through his entire set, he changed the songs the same way.
After Tweek finished his last cover of 'As She's Walking Away'--'As He's Walking Away'? Craig wasn't sure--he thanked the audience, "Um, thank you, everyone. Have a good night and be safe getting home. Call a cab if you need it." He waved and headed off the stage.
Craig started to get out of his chair before he could help himself. Stan put a hand on his stomach.
"Do you want to meet him?" Stan asked, his eyes glittering.
"W-what?" Craig blinked. He straightened up and quickly took his seat. He sat in the corner of the bar to avoid being identified for a reason.
"Do you want to meet him?" He repeated. "I know Tweek. I can introduce you if you'd like."
Craig narrowed his eyes. "Was this planned, Marsh? Did Red set this up?"
"Happy accident." Stan laughed, jumping from his seat. "Come on, Tweek usually cools down after being on stage out back with his friend, manager, person, Jimmy."
Craig raised an eyebrow but stood anyway to follow Stan out.
~~~~
Tweek and another man sat on the tailgate of a pickup truck that needed a new paint job, new tires, and a new passenger side window. Tweek raised a beer to whatever his friend said with a grin.
"Hey! Tweek, Jimmy! Hey!" Stan waved his arm. "Good show, Tweek."
"Thanks, but it wasn't that good." Tweek took a sip of his beer. "It went ok. I think I sped up a few songs and choruses. Not that that's fully my fault. I was going to sing a different set, but Jimmy brought the wrong CD." He sent a glare at Jimmy, who looked away embarrassed.
"I think it went over w-w-w-well," Jimmy told him matter-of-factly. "Besides, you don’t have 'The M-M-Miss-Missip...' The Squirrel Church Song down yet anyway."
"'Squirrel Church Song'?" Craig stepped around Stan and the two on the tailgate took notice of him for the first time. "You don't mean that Ray Stevens' song, do you?"
Tweek nodded, looking him over as he tried to figure out where he'd seen Craig before.
"Yeah, The Mississippi Squirrel Revival.'" Snapping his fingers to the beat, he sang, "The day the squirrel went berserk in the First Self-Righteous Church--"
"In that sleepy little town of Pascagoula," Craig joined in. Jimmy's eyes grew wide as he made the connection between Craig's voice and his face. His mouth fell open.
With shared grins, the two singers finished the chorus, "It was a fight for survival, that broke out in revival! They were jumpin' pews and shouting 'Hallelujah'!"
Jimmy put his hand on Tweek's arm. "Tweek, that--"
"I know, Jimmy, I know." Tweek rolled his eyes. "I don't have the voice for anything too gospel. Let me have my fun, dude. I'm not on stage."
"No, Tweek, do you know who this is?" He jabbed a finger at Craig. "That C-Cr-Cra-Craig Fucking Tucker!"
Tweek let out a strangled 'WHAT?!' and dropped his beer can. Stan frowned and leaned down, making sure to set it beside Tweek. If Tweek hadn't started yammering on, Stan would have told them to recycle the can when they were done.
"I sang a fucking comedy song with a music star?" Tweek gasped. "Fuck! A professional musician heard me sing on stage? When I was singing a set I hadn’t really practiced!?" His eyes went wide and he stared down at the holes in his knees then groaned, slumping down. " While wearing skinny jeans and a cowboy shirt...!"
Jimmy laughed nervously, waving his hands in front of Tweek.
"He's usually much better than this. It's the beer. I swear." Jimmy forced a smile that Craig could tell was fake. It was the same one Red used when she had to give an answer to a bullshit question to save face.
Stan set a hand on Tweek's shoulder. "Sorry. Should have texted you first before bringing him out, but Craig really enjoyed your show. He wanted to meet you."
"'Meet me'?" Tweek squeaked. "Why?"
Craig shrugged. "Just because." He gestured. "Can I take a seat? Do you mind?"
Jimmy lifted himself up and moved over, exposing a pair of crutches behind him in the bed that Craig hadn't noticed before. Craig sat between them, leaving Stan to use the wheel to hoist himself up and sit in the bed. He accidentally kicked the crutches when he spread his legs out.
"Hey, watch it!" Jimmy scolded. "T-those are new, thank you very much."
"Sorry, Jimmy."
Tweek made a high pitched noise then coughed into his hand. "So, what's a big star like you doing in a bar like this?"
"Is that a pick up line?" Stan asked coyly, making Tweek picked up the empty can and mockingly toss it at him. It missed by a mile and bounced against the metal bed with a clang.
"Stan was a big star before he was an everyday, boring family man." Craig smirked at the glare Stan gave him. "We're friends. I wanted to visit him for the night while I was around."
"Oh, right, Moop. I forget someti..." Tweek trailed off when he realized just how offensive his comment sounded. "Well, that's nice of you to stay in touch with your friend."
"Don't know if I'd go as far as 'friend'..." Stan grumbled, taking out his phone.
They chatted for the next hour or so and Craig learned a lot about Tweek and Jimmy. Jimmy hosted an internet show where he brought what he believed to be up and coming talent on to showcase their skills. Tweek, being his good friend, was the first guest he brought on (or, as Tweek put it 'tricked into a recorded video chat').
Tweek himself had his own channel where he posted covers of whatever song caught his fancy. Just a quick, discrete skim of the YouTube channel confirmed it to Craig. Tweek really did post a little of everything: country, classical, Broadway musicals, folk, rock.
Craig wondered if he was still trying to find his niche or not, and Tweek replied with a shrug.
"My therapist told me to do what makes me happy, and different types of music make me happy," Tweek explained.
"You know what would make me happy? A drink." Jimmy twisted around for his crutches. "Anyone else?"
"I'm good." Tweek shook his head.
Stan opened his mouth to decline when Craig tapped his leg. He flicked his eyes towards Tweek then moved his head a little.
Stan understood, thankfully, and stood up in the bed.
"Craig put tetwenty n on my tab, so I'm getting another Sprite. All drinks are on me whether you want a can or not." He leaped over the side and landed with a stumble on the ground. Quickly correcting himself, he dusted off his pants as if he hadn't nearly landed on his nose.
Tweak looked from Craig than to Jimmy and Stan as they walked away. He chewed his lip and began to stand, calling to wait for him, when Craig cleared his throat.
"May I ask you a personal question?" Craig said quickly, trapping Tweek in a social protocol net.
Tweek twiddled his thumbs together. "Sure. I guess."
"When you sang, you changed the songs. They sounded like you were singing to a man." Craig rested his chin in his palm. "Why is that?"
Tweek's face twisted into an angry, sour expression.
"Because I'm gay and I don't want to sing about girls. I want to sing about men." Tweek's voice came out low and warning. "I'm not making money off my covers or hurting people. It's fine."
Craig recoiled with a frown. "I never said it wasn't."
Tweek eyed his expression a second then frowned himself.
"Sorry. Most of the time when someone asks me that, it's directly followed by how ‘I should be ashamed of myself'." He rolled his eyes.
"Ashamed? For being gay? That's bullshit. It's nothing to be ashamed about." He sounded like a hypocritical anti-bullying program. Realizing this, he quickly added, "or should you be ashamed for singing country without a twang?" He saturated his voice with a deep southern accent on the last word, earning a smile from Tweek.
"Both, actually." Tweek snickered. "I've made some people pretty upset that I can't sing in an accent I don't have. People really like to give me shit for things I can't help."
Craig chuckled. "Yeah, I know what you mean."
His phone buzzed loudly in his pocket. Red was calling him.
"Oh, um, one minute, " Craig held up his finger, "and I'll be right back."
He took a few steps away from the truck before answering.
"Yes, cousin dearest?" Craig answered in a deadpan. "Any more news about my toppled career?"
"Depends. Have you decided what you're going to do?" Red asked from the other end of the line. "Are you going to see how the article turns out or are you going to out yourself?"
Craig hummed a minute. Red said the chance that they wouldn't run the article without the part where Thomas outed him was slim to none. That was too good of information for them to just sit on and never profit from.
"I think I'll tell my fans myself." Craig turned over his shoulder to look at the truck. Stan and Jimmy returned with cans in hand. Jimmy tossed one to Tweek, but he missed and it went under the truck.
"The magazine hits the shelves next week. If you're going to do it, you'll need to do it soon," Red advised. "Livestream, maybe. Or a series of heartfelt tweets. Make sure you mention something about God making you gay. That'll work in your favor."
Craig nodded, realized Red couldn't see him, then replied, "Got it."
"I'll start calling around. There will be plenty of news outlets who want to get the inside scoop on this. Tell me when you're planning on posting it. We need you to look in as best of a light as possible. See you, cuz."
She hung up before he could reply.
When he returned to the truck, Stan's legs stuck out from under it as he searched for the missing can. Tweek crouched beside him, holding his phone light out as Jimmy sipped his beer.
"I could just p-p-p-pull the truck forward, you know," Jimmy offered.
"No, I've nearly got it." Stan wriggled forward. "Ah-ha!" There was a thudding, then a dented can bounced out from under the truck. Tweek tried to grab it, only to fall forward into the dirt.
Craig stooped down and plucked the can up. He winced and held it away from himself. Opening the beer would shower everyone around after all the shaking it had endured. He wasn’t risking it.
Stan's head popped up, dusty and a mess, before he hauled himself up onto the tailgate. Craig handed the beer to Jimmy, who, thankfully, had enough sense not to open it.
"Stan, I need to go." Craig shook his phone for emphasis. "Red has a game plan for...what's going to happen."
"Oh, does she?" Stan patted his hair out. "I'd offer to take you to get Wendyl's help if you want it, but I'm driving these knuckleheads home."
Jimmy rolled his eyes. "We're fine. Tweek is sober as a saint."
"He had a beer when we walked out," Stan countered.
"He spilled half of it."
"Half a beer is still a beer!" Stan snapped. "You're not drunk driving on my watch."
Craig stepped forward. "I'll drive Tweek home if he wants."
Only after the suggestion left his mouth did he realize how strange that must have sounded. Craig barely knew Tweek from Adam. What reason did he have to offer to help Tweek when he already said he had something else to do?
Tweek took a step back. "I rode with Jimmy here. I can squeeze in or I'll sit in the bed. It's fine. Thank you though."
"No, really, let me take you home. I'm a good driver, I swear."
"No, I'll ride with Stan. He knows the way there already."
"Please?"
Jimmy narrowed his eyes. "He said no, dude. Let it d-drop."
Craig swallowed nervously. "Ok, I guess I have to get used to saying this but listen..."
It was hard to breathe suddenly. His face felt hot. His hands were sweating.
"Yes?" Tweek frowned.
"Listen, I, uh, I..." He hissed a breath out. "My ex-boyfriend outed me to a very popular magazine that is going to out me to the public in a week. My manager suggested I steal some of the magazine's thunder by coming out as gay myself. I would like someone with a little more expertise in this subject than I have to offer suggestions on how I should go about doing this bullshit."
Tweek's mouth hung open, as did Jimmy's. Stan picked up his Sprite can and took a long drink.
"Breathe, Craig. Don't pass out, now. You'll get used to saying it after a little while." He raised his Sprite to him. "Be brave, brother."
Craig ignored him, but did take a deep breath and force his lungs to expand.
"Well? If you don't want to, it doesn't matter that much." Craig tensed despite himself.
Tweek chewed his lower lip. "I, um, do you want my number? I have work tomorrow, so I do need to get home and sleep tonight. We can talk after work, if you want?"
Craig relaxed. "Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks, man."
Stan snorted to himself and shook his head at his drink. Craig resisted the urge to flip him off again as he pulled up a new contact. He and Tweek then exchanged phones.
For a brief moment, Craig wanted to add a heart to the end of his name as the contact, but he shook off the thought as silly and inappropriate. He wasn't going to rebound with a random guy at a bar to get back at Thomas. At least, not until he read the article or got a call back.
Though Red told him not to get his hopes up, he still held onto the dream that Thomas hadn't betrayed him and they could work through this together.
Handing Tweek back his phone, Craig pocketed his.
"I do need to go, too, actually." He said with a thumb jab over his shoulder. "I'll text you tomorrow?"
Tweek nodded but didn't speak. He stared at Craig for a second too long before averting his eyes.
Craig smiled to himself and turned to leave, suddenly feeling a little better about his future.
~~~~
Tweek panicked, pacing circles around his living room.
Stan planned this. That fucker had to. Him or Wendyl. Both of them encouraged him to "settle down" every other time they saw him, and last night Stan just so happens to introduce him to an available, handsome, music star who wants Tweek's advice?
There was no way that was all coincidence!
Tweek fretted about this meeting all day, ever since Craig texted him that morning asking when he could come by.
Why did he agree to this? Tweek had been out since he was a teenager! He hadn't had to hide that he was gay from anyone since becoming semi internet famous.
Jimmy featured him in his LGBTQ creators to follow video last June for fuck's sake! Tweek wasn't able to help Craig with this!
Someone knocked, tearing Tweek from his thoughts.
Vowing that the next time he went to visit Stan, he would slip Stan's children an excessive amount of sugary treats, Tweek dragged his feet to the door.
Craig looked the epitome of a modern country star: striped button up with the first three buttons undone, sleeves rolled up, jeans from a brand that Tweek knew he could never afford, a wooden cross hanging from a leather cord around his neck, and even a cowboy hat.
He had deep bags under his hazel eyes, which Tweek refused to look at for too long. He didn't want to risk being caught admiring the flecks of gold-brown in his iris.
"Hey," Tweek stepped aside and allowed him in, "Craig. How are you?"
"Tired." Craig rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palm. "My cousin woke me at five in the morning to talk about ideas for telling my fans I'm gay." He reached into his chest pocket to produce a folded sheet of lined paper. "Here's what we got."
Tweek took it but didn't open it. With a wave of his hand, he led Craig through his kitchen. Kiwi, Tweek's bird, raised his head from cleaning his feathers. He twittered at Tweek, walking across the table towards him. Tweek took the bird in his hand. He stroked his feathers as he returned him to his cage in the living room.
"Take a seat," Tweek said before he whistled at Kiwi. Kiwi chirped back then fluttered to sit on a high perch and preen himself in a mirror.
Craig slid onto the couch while Tweek went to his desk chair on the other side of the coffee table.
"Is that bird yours?" Craig eyed Kiwi.
"Yeah. That's Kiwi. My grandma couldn't keep her parrot when she moved, so my parents said I would take her. So I got her budgie, but budgies do better in pairs, so I bought Kiwi to go with my grandma's parrot--oh, her name was Apples. Get it? Apple and Kiwi? She was more yellow than Kiwi is, but," Tweek realized he was babbling and quickly finished his ramble, "Apples passed away last month, so it's just Kiwi now. I'm getting another budgie in a month or two, though. Do you have a pet?"
Craig perked up, some of his tiredness fading. He took his wallet from his pocket. Like a proud father, he flipped it open to reveal a picture of three guinea pigs: a long-haired brown one, a cream colored one with a stripe, and a black and white one.
"This is Petunia," He pointed to the long-haired one. "This is Astro." He moved his finger to the black and white one, "And finally Stripe the Sixth." He tapped the cream colored one.
"‘Sixth'?" Tweek echoed. "What happened to one through five?"
Craig closed his wallet. "Got into the Easter basket, Mom stepped on him, my friend's dog, old age, and old age," he counted off. "I've been keeping them as pets since I was five."
"Anything else?" Tweek sat, setting the paper Craig gave him on the table top.
"What, do you want me to name off pet names for forty head of cattle or a horse?" Craig chuckled and Tweek turned his full attention to his feet. "It's fine, Tweek. I don't own hooved animals."
"Oh, really?" Tweek swallowed. They should change the topic before Tweek made himself look like a complete fool. "We should get started now."
"Sure, if you're ready." Craig pointed to the paper. "Like I said, we spent all morning on it, but you should look over it and make sure we didn't leave anything out."
Tweek didn't touch the paper. "Do the people close to you know? Your parents? Siblings? Best friends?"
Craig blinked in surprise. "Y-yeah? Of course. I told my sister and friends in high school, and I told my parents in college. They know. Why does that matter?"
"Would you want to find out someone you thought trusted you didn't trust you enough to tell you something like they're gay?"
Craig thought on that a moment. "I guess not," He said.
Contented, Tweek finally unfolded the paper. Craig leaned closer, pushing his hat back a little, as he watched Tweek read.
The paper was...something. Tweek couldn't decide what. At times it really did feel heartfelt, but, at times, it also sounded like a celebrity's forced apology.
After reading it once, Tweek stood up and went to his desk. He returned a moment later with a pad of paper and a pencil. As Craig watched him with his eyebrows raised, Tweek organized the parts by level of sincerity.
When he finished, he spun the pad towards Craig and tapped the column with the least sincere sounding parts.
"Can you cut these?"
Craig furrowed his brow as he looked over the lines.
"But, those are important." Craig shook his head. "If I don't mention I'm sorry for hiding it from my fans, they'll get upset and feel betrayed."
"Are you sorry?"
"Yes," Craig replied automatically, robotically. Tweek fixed him with a probing look.
"They're not the ones hiding part of their lives. Their lives aren’t being judged for nothing. You don't owe them an apology," Tweek smiled softly at Craig. "Actually, a lot of these lines here are about your fans. I think only this one about working to make a better future and honest music with them sounds genuine."
Craig pursed his lips. He took a breath and blew it out. The breath whistled through his teeth.
"Why does it have to sound genuine?"
"Because if not, it sounds pandering." Tweek quipped, ripping the organized lines from the pad. As he began to rewrite the speech from scratch, Craig took off his hat and looked down into it with a serious expression on his face.
When he finished, Tweek pushed the pad over. "What do you think of that?"
Craig placed his hat back on, then skimmed the speech. He furrowed his brows and looked up.
"This is good. Really good."
Tweek shrugged, trying to hide the pride he felt.
"Is this how you came out? Did you say these things?" Craig wanted to know, taking a picture of the new script with his phone.
Tweek shook his head. "No. I just blurted it out during dinner one night. Mom and Dad were talking about road work messing their morning drive up and I just shouted ‘I'm gay!' when my dad took a breath. I wanted to tell them for a while, but I could never find the right time." A chuckle and he went on, "Mom said she always kind of knew. Dad said ‘that's nice.' They went right back on talking about the road work."
Craig snorted a laugh. "Really? Your parents sound very chill about it." A sigh. "I hope my fans will be, too."
Tweek reached over and put a hand on Craig's shoulder. "I'm sure they will be. If not, it's not your problem they're homophobes." He squeezed. "Things are really different from a decade ago. Not nearly as many people as you expect will give you flack for kissing boys."
Craig looked up at Tweek's smiling face and returned the expression. He set his hat beside him and pointed towards Kiwi's cage.
"Do you think I could get a better look at your bird? I need a break from all this already, and I do like small animals."
Tweek nodded and promptly jumped to his feet to retrieve Kiwi.
~~~~
Petunia napped on Craig's stomach while Stripe the Sixth munched on hey beside his head. Astro settled himself against Craig's ankle for a snooze.
Red looked over her cousin with a sigh. Her husband, Kevin, tried to peek around her shoulder. Like Craig, Red was taller than average, so Kevin had to step to the side to get a clear view of Craig on the floor of his pet pen.
"Craig, get up."
"Can't. Babies are sleeping." Craig muttered, keeping his own eyes shut. "Just tell me what you think of Tweek's revisions."
Red glanced at the paper in her hand then back up.
"I liked them," Kevin proclaimed. "They sound more...real than what you two had."
"‘Pandering' to the fans is what Tweek said," Craig smiled to himself, "and he wasn't wrong."
"I still think we should focus more on the ‘God made you gay’ bit. I found some verses we could use." Red tapped against her phone.
"I don't want to read Bible verses, Red." Craig slowly opened his eyes. Careful of Petunia, he picked up Stripe the Sixth and held him over his face. Tapping their noses together, Craig went on, "I actually really like how it is now. Short, to the point. It's perfect for me."
Red sighed through her nose before stepping over the low fence. She sat down next to Craig with her legs crossed before plucking Petunia from his stomach to pet in her lap. Petunia looked around after being woken up, pipped once, then snuggled back down into Red's lap.
"I just don't want this to blow up in your face. You've come so far, Craig. I don't want you remembered as ‘that country singer who came out gay and never broke the top twenty again.'"
Craig set Stripe on his chest, scratching the pig's back. He knew that Red was worried. This industry was quick to blow something small out of proportion, destroy someone's life, then move on like it never happened.
"It'll be fine," Craig reassured.
Kevin stepped into the pen now. He bent down and stroked Astro's back. "If you're honest with everyone, I think people will appreciate that," He said. "People like sincerity."
Craig hummed, slowly sitting up.
"Had me my script. I want to read over it again."
He didn't need to read it over. After leaving Tweek's yesterday, he'd been practicing it repeatedly until he could say it it verbatim without looking.
In truth, he just liked Tweek's handwriting. It was a little shaky, but loopy and fun to follow along with his eyes. Craig wondered if he could convince Tweek to write a song with him after the tenth read over, if just so he could read a little more of his handwriting.
He'd listen to some of Tweek's original songs on his channel the night before. They all had a definite show tune quality to them, but Craig figured they could mix their styles. That would be refreshing, to say the least.
He paused a moment, the smile he let on his face falling, to ask, "Red, have you heard any more from Thomas? He still isn't answering my calls."
Red shook her head. "No, nothing else. I'm sorry."
"No, if he wants to hide, then I don't care," Craig grumbled.
He didn't have much more to tell him anyway. The morning before he went to go see Tweek, he'd left Thomas a voicemail telling him they were over. Even if Thomas did gather up his balls enough to call him back, Craig wasn't sure he'd even answer.
Astro woke up and climbed on Kevin's legs as Kevin asked, "Do you have a date for this? The magazine publishes in less than a week."
"Tomorrow," Red answered before Craig opened his mouth. "This happens tomorrow. A live stream, I think, would be best. Butter them up with your guinea pigs," she held up Petunia, "then break the news."
Sitting up, Craig held Stripe to his chest. "Yeah, I guess that'll work." He stood, stretching his back until it popped. "Come on, Stripe, let's go practice while Aunty Red and Uncle Kevin set up my living room and make everything as down-homey as possible."
Red's head snapped up. "We never agreed to that!"
"Oh no, I can't hear you. I'm out of the room. I'm so far away now," Craig deadpanned, keeping his voice at the same level as he left to go practice.
~~~~~
AN: Chapter 2
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